“Over time, mother’s obligation towards housekeeping has taken its toll on Emily. Intentionally or not, mother has given Emily the impression of the static world of a woman in a patriarchal society” (Jafni and Bahar 156). One of the greatest mistakes the mother makes is forcing Emily into the standard for women. “She had to help be a mother, and housekeeper, and shopper” (Olsen 335).
As stated before, the mother, though, shatters societal concepts of motherhood. Motherhood, at the time, was a picket fence with an apple pie in the window. Mothers stayed at home, cleaned the house, and made sure their children were well taken care of. The mother as described in “I Stand Here Ironing” is the opposite of that. She has to work to keep food on the table, she doesn’t know what is the best for her children, and she runs a chaotic household. She, though, is the reality of motherhood especially in a time where food was scarce and jobs even …show more content…
As a male, he inherently had more rights than women, even though it is based after women gained rights to vote. Throughout the story, he watches the movement of three teenage girls as they shop at the store he works in. He uses comments that, in today’s society, are seen as sexist and lewd. During that time, though, it was almost expected for men to think in that way-especially young men. This story takes place at the beginning of the Sexual Revolution, so it is almost unsurprising to see women in bathing suits, particularly two piece suits. The Sexual Revolution, though, allowed for the gap between the middle aged generation and the youth to widen. The older generation went to church, believed in volunteering, and did not think women should show